SVMH chief executive search process questioned

Two board members raise concerns over criteria

Nov. 28, 2012

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The Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System board of directors will meet today at 2 p.m. in the Cislini Plaza Board Room.

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Two members of the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System board of directors say they are worried that conflicting sets of criteria are being used in the selection of the hospital’s next chief executive officer.

Board members Pat Egan and Nathan Olivas said while they aren’t sure, they believe the public health care district may have created two different sets of qualification criteria for the CEO position.

One set, they say, apparently requires a far fewer number of years of executive experience, while another indicates 15 years senior executive experience, and says prior service as a chief executive officer is “desired.” A review of the hospital’s website shows only the more demanding criteria list has been posted. Nowhere else could a more relaxed set of criteria — possibly one designed for a popular internal candidate — be found.

“I am very concerned that we have a double standard going here and I think it’s a problem,” said Olivas, a member of the SVMH board since 1983. “We all approved the (qualifications) criteria together as a board.”

“I agree with my colleague,” said Egan. “We cannot have two sets of standards here when it comes to selecting a new chief executive.”

The SVMH CEO Search Committee, comprised of the district’s five-member board of directors and three doctors, is scheduled today to interview four finalist candidates in closed session.

On Wednesday, SVMH spokeswoman Adrienne Laurent issued this statement on behalf of the district.

“... Discussing the specifics of that search at this time, such as who is being considered and why, is premature. There will be a time for that public discussion, but it is not now,” Laurent said. “The position specifications for the CEO have been posted on the (SVMH) website since Oct. 1. You’ll notice that the search committee has indicated that ‘15 years of senior-executive healthcare experience is desired’ and not required. The same criteria apply to all candidates being considered by the search committee.”

Egan and Olivas refused to confirm or deny the names of any of the finalists, citing state Brown Act restrictions on the release of board closed session information. The Californian, however, has learned that James Griffith, SVMH’s current chief operating officer, is a finalist candidate.

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A review of Griffith’s online LinkedIn profile shows he has far less than 15 years executive experience and has never been a chief executive with any private or public organization.

Griffith could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The newspaper has also learned that Dr. Jim Gilbert, a former SVMH chief of staff and son-in-law of board President Jim Gattis, also expressed interest in the position.

Like Griffith, Gilbert does not appear, according to online biographical materials, to possess the executive experience preferred by the district according to its posted criteria.

Gilbert confirmed that he was interested in the position and was invited by a representative of Witt/Kieffer — the Irvine firm conducting SVMH’s CEO recruitment — to be interviewed by the SVMH board. But after talking with the recruiter Gilbert said he decided to decline the invitation.

Richard Swan, a representative of the executive recruitment firm, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The board will meet in open session at 2 p.m. today in the Cislini Plaza Board Room for a regular meeting.

The board’s final decision on who will become the next permanent CEO — replacing interim CEO Lowell Johnson — is not expected until next month. The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Dec. 20.

Because of SVMH’s move this year to district-based elections from what was an at-large arrangement, Egan and Olivas will be leaving office at noon on Dec. 7.

The two will not cast votes on the final selection of the district’s new chief executive.

Replacing them will be Rafael Garcia, who beat Orly Jimenez for the district’s Zone 3 seat on Nov. 6, and Victor Rey, the only candidate to file for the Zone 2 position. Rey was automatically elected to the panel.

Questions about SVMH's CEO recruitment process is just the latest in a series of controversies to rock the public tax-supported district over the last year. A recently released State Audit cited a number of concerns with the institution's finances and with the ethical performance of the board of directors.

While the Monterey County District Attorney's Office determined that none of the issues rose to the level of criminal wrong-doing, the state Fair Political Practices Commission continues its review of the state Auditor's report.